1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portion control system and method for apportioning cooked foods in a commercial food service or quick-service restaurant setting.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Weight check systems are known in the prior art for checking a customer's order or for checking the contents of a bagged order to determine if it is correct. The owners of this application also own U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,386, entitled “Computerized method and system for fulfillment of an itemized food order from a quick-service restaurant menu” which describes a system in which a customer's order is input into a computer system that is adapted to check for the correct food content by means of weighing the bagged order. The restaurant personnel are alerted by the computer system when the packaged order is either overweight or underweight when compared to a predetermined weight range for the total items ordered. While the system and method of the '386 patent is well suited for making sure the customer is given the proper items, it is not adapted specifically for portion control in the quick-service restaurant setting.
French fries are the most popular item served at most quick service or “fast food” restaurants. At one well-known fast food franchise organization, hundreds of millions of orders are sold each year. One of these quick service restaurants (e.g., McDonalds®) is renowned for its quality control methodology and training, which assures their customers of a consistent dining experience at its restaurants across the globe. For French Fries, McDonalds has established a selected weight (e.g., 2.6 ounces) as the average weight of a regular order of French Fries, and the chain bases its pricing, margin and yield calculations around this performance.
Because of the inconsistent length of French Fries, from under 2 inches to 6 inches, it is difficult for store personnel to control portion size. Although stores have access to portion measuring scales for weighing individual servings, these scales are not regularly used, because they add extra steps to the production process, add complexity, and reduce efficiency during busy or peak serving periods.
The common outcome, verified by owners and others familiar with store operations, is that store personnel fill servings visually, leaving extra fries in each bag or carton to minimize customer complaints and speed operations, typically resulting in a 2-3% shortfall in yield. A typical quick service store uses 400-500 pounds of frozen fries per day, translating to 1600-2000 orders served per day. Improving yield by 1% results in 16-20 more servings sold per day from the given quantity of fries, and an increased daily profit of $19-$26 per store, or over $600 per month. Therefore, improving the yield for French Fries represents the single most obvious, universal opportunity to improve the bottom line of “fast food” restaurants. Accordingly, a method or apparatus is needed that accurately determines the portion size or weight for each serving of a comestible such as French Fries, but only if that solution does not slow down service or the existing Fry preparation process.
Fresh, hot Fries are typically prepared at a stainless steel “fry station”. Each station consists of a “fry tub” containing 1 or 2 receptacle bins for the temporary storage of hot fries, infrared heat lamps placed above the station for keeping the product hot (140-165 F), a shelf or shelves for retrieving paper serving containers of all 3 sizes, and a “fry ribbon.” The Fry Ribbon is a special metal grate/railing sitting above the tub, designed to hold individual servings, and for allowing any dropped fries to fall through into the tub below. A typical fast food restaurant likely uses a fry station with features that have evolved over time and will likely continue to change, and there are many different sizes and shapes, as the design of fry ribbons has changed many times over the years and will continue to do so. A typical preparation and serving process is as follows:                1. Hot fries are dumped from a fryer basket into the tub.        2. The operator adds salt to the fries.        3. The operator places an empty pouch, bag or container on the fry ribbon or holds the container in his or her hand and uses a fry scoop to pick up fries from the tub and place them in the container. The fry order (i.e., serving or portion) is weighed and adjusted, if needed. When no adjustment is needed (meaning the fry order meets standards for quality and weight), the order container is placed (or slid) to one side (e.g., the left) for “first in-first out” dispensing to the customer.        4. The operator repeats the process with the next empty container        5. Each prepared serving remains on the fry ribbon until it is dispensed. Users typically place the serving containers in a horizontal row, with regular servings and large servings in separate rows on the fry ribbon.        6. As more servings are prepared, the operator slides the prepared servings toward the left.        7. As a customer order is prepared, fry servings are picked from the left side (first-in, first-out procedure).        
The foregoing procedure is so ingrained in training and personnel habits that it must remain relatively undisturbed if fast food restaurant operators are to adopt any portion control solution. There is a need, therefore, for a convenient, flexible, inexpensive and unobtrusive system and method for automated weighing of individual packaged French Fry servings or portions for use in a restaurant or fast food setting. It is noted that French fries are a foodstuff or comestible which is often prepared, cooked or fried before being apportioned or packaged for (hopefully) immediate sale and delivery to the customer, and other foodstuffs present similar challenges. Thus, there is also a need for automated apportionment or weighing of individual packaged servings or portions of other comestibles for use in a restaurant or fast food setting. In order to meet this need, a system and method must provide a time-efficient and relatively fool-proof measurement method and apparatus, ensuring that the customer receives the correct quantity of product while avoiding excessive portions, which diminish profit levels for the restaurant. There is a need for a more versatile scale to weigh cooked food products to fit onto/into existing equipment designs that leave no area that is intended to accommodate a food scale.